Equipment for Continued Weight Loss

In my last post, I lost 7kg and had an enforced 3 weeks break due to a nasty shin splint. I’m back running again and have taken the weight loss tally to 12kg. Based on feedback on the last post, here’s a look at the simple equipment I used to make losing weight a little easier.

Medical

I had to cut down my runs after injury basically because I was dumb to run 6 times a week. I run 4 times weekly currently and reduce my pace while ensuring I do not exert too much pressure my right shin. I’m not a sports person and I’ve no idea how recovering from a sports injury is like so I don’t exactly know if my shin is healed. On some days I feel some pain at the same spot, on other days there isn’t pain.

There are plenty of sports tape available but they all command ridiculous prices for a one-time-use piece of adhesive. Plus, my jogging doesn’t deserve that luxury.

Now, I’m just taking precautionary measures. What I have done is to tape my right shin before each run just to be safe. There are plenty of sports tape available but they all command ridiculous prices for a one-time-use piece of adhesive. Plus, my jogging doesn’t deserve that luxury.

I improvised and bought 3M micropore surgical tape. It does the job and removes easily enough without tearing out all that hair . Of course, it is not going to hold up for strenuous activities but it fits a moderate-pace jog well.

LP Shin Sleeve, 3M Micropore Tape & Scott’s Cod Liver Oil

During the 3 painful weeks of limping around, I decided to get a shin sleeve to put some pressure on it and relieve the pain. It did help. I currently wear it when I run as well. It keeps things compact and spreads the pressure.

The only consumables I take are Scotts Pure Cod Liver Oil. The main reason for using it is due to its Vitamin D content and also because I usually fall sick after starting to run in the past. This is not an endorsement of a possibly immune system boosting supplement but hey it works for me and it is cost effective as well. There is also some talk that Vitamin D helps weight loss but frankly, I’ve no idea.

Tech

I first ran with the 6th generation iPod Nano. The Nano only has a pedometer which is not very accurate but the best part was that it was really tiny and it had a clip. There is no better personal media player that suits a jogger than the 6th generation version. Unfortunately, the new nano (7th gen) is no longer jogging friendly.

iPod Nano 6th Gen: My first running companion.

I decided that I wanted something more accurate that utilized GPS and tracked my routes well. Nike watches and bands were over the budget so I turned to my phone, the One X. The One X is a 4.7″ phone and I got an armband to go with it. The armband fits surprisingly well and I could use the touchscreen even when the phone was in the sleeve. The material is pretty good as well.

The armband and simple Creative earphones.

Only downside is that the plastic covering the phone has the tendency to stick to the phone so it is a little difficult to remove it. Also, don’t expect to fit the phone and a cover into this sleeve, it is made to perfectly fit the One X.

I also used a simple pair of Creative earphones. It costs less than S$20 and that is perfect for me because I have a terrible track record at destroying or losing my earphones. The earphones fit well and cling on tightly enough to not bother me during the run.

When I was on the iPhone 4, I utilized for short periods of time an app called Runkeeper. It is available both on iOS and Android so I decided to use that on my One X over the more popular Nike+ app. I love it. It tracks your run, gets your route plotted accurate, gives you all the feedback about your pace, estimated calories burnt, etc.

What is great about it is that it gives you audio cues while you run. I set mine to update me on my pace and time taken for every kilometer I run. Because I do distance based runs, this feature is useful to tell me when I can stop (after hitting the 4km mark).

Runkeeper’s Web Interface: Many many features

Runkeeper truly shines in its web interface. The screenshot above tells you nearly everything. It’s well made and informative. There are also plenty of social aspects to it which I didn’t bother using. I don’t need everyone on Facebook to know how often I run and for how long.

What is nice is that you can export the maps to Google Earth and then get a street view look at it. This is basically just a cool feature which doesn’t really matter.

Runkeeper to Google Earth’s Streetview: Red line marks the path.

Others

Besides the above and a pair of running shoes, I was given a pair of Nike headbands as an encouragement for my efforts to lose weight. I needed them basically because I am a very sweaty person. While running I had to clear sweat from my brows every 30 seconds or so. If I didn’t do that I would get sweat in my eyes and also up my nostrils when I took deep breathes and sweat trickled under the nose.

Headbands: Useful if you’re the sweaty type.

The headbands are simple and effective. They do the job and the difference in the amount of sweat coming down my face and soaking my t-shirt is huge. The only downside is that I have to wash it after every run and they do not dry out that quickly. That is why I needed 2 of them.

Conclusion

The simple equipment listed here made my run a lot more enjoyable and kept me going. I am now figuring my exit strategy as I have surpassed my target for weight loss. Frankly, I did not expect losing weight to occur that quickly. I would love to get suggestions on maintaining weight.